Pre-Requisites
Log in credentials for your hosting control panel
FTP log in credentials
An FTP client (Filezilla,CoreFTP,WSFTP,etc…)
Setting Up Your Tools
Because we’re going to be connecting directly to our file space on the sever we need access to an easy to use interface between our computer and our server.
The kind of software that provides that interface is called an FTP* client , it bridges your local files and your remote files, so you are able to copy files from your local machine to the web server.
Now open up the application and then open the Site Manger window , complete the following sections which you received from your host
Host Name:
User Name:
Password:
If you want just to connect quickly you can add your credentials via the Quick Connect boxes in the top of FileZilla and get started pretty much immediately.
If you want added security over your connection – which I recommend – choose explicit TLS over FTP from the Encryption option, you’ll be prompted to allow a security certificate access the first time you do this – allow the connection and you’re on your way.
Finally, if you wish, you may then click the Advanced tab and in the section “Default remote directory:” type in the link to your home folder (usually /public_html ) – this isn’t imperative but it means whenever you open your FTP client it will automatically open your main root directory on your remote server, where your WordPress install will live.
Downloading and Unzipping WordPress
In your browser, navigate over to http://wordpress.org and download the latest version of WordPress, saving the zip file to your desktop. Then decompress/unzip that file which will put a directory called “wordpress” on your desktop or into the directory to which you’ve downloaded it.
Setting Up the Database
Open up your browser and log into the control panel for your hosting (for example http://mydomain.com/cpanel)
To create the database and set it up we’re going to use the MySQL Database Wizard which will take us through all three processes required:
a-Create your Database
b-Create a Database User and assign that user to your Database
c-Finally, giving your Database User full privileges on the DB
Uploading Your Files to the Server
Now it’s time to go back to Filezilla or your FTP client and connect to your server – Hit Connect and the application will bring up the window.
There are a number of panels in that window and starting at the top they are…
-The Server connection pane that shows all the commands and responses you’re sending/receiving to the server.
-On the next line there are two panels indicating which directories are currently selected, in the left pane, we’re seeing the local machine (your computer) directories, and in the right, the remote machine directories (the server)
-Then there are the two panels that show the contents of the currently selected directories.
Finally is the queue of files being sent/received between the local and remote machines (empty until we start transferring files).
Now that you’re a little familiar with what you’re seeing you need to make sure that the directory selected on the local side is the “wordpress”(That means the contents of the word press folder will transfer to your web server folder) folder that we downloaded and unzipped at the beginning of this step.
You also need to make sure the remote directory selected is the directory you’re planning on putting WordPress in(Your root folder public_html).For most installations you’re likely to be putting it in the server’s root directory (commonly called public_html or www).
When those directories are correct select all the files on the left and drag them into the right hand pane, FileZilla or your FTP client will then begin to copy the files from your local machine to the server.
Wait it out. The time the files take to transfer will depend on your connection speed.
When it’s done you’ll see that the queue has emptied, you should see that all files are transferred successfully, and if you right click the remote pane and select refresh you should see the pane refresh with a mirror of the file names in both panes (there may be additional files on the remote server, depending on what your host has installed in your new server space by default.
Connecting WordPress to Your MySQL Database
Open up your browser and navigate to your new domain, you should then see the following message on your screen.
“There doesn’t seem to be a wp-config.php file. I need this before we can get started.” This is good, it means WordPress is installed and we’re ready to connect to our database.
Click the “Create a Configuration File” button which will open up a page asking you to be prepared with your Database credentials.
When you’re ready, hit “Let’s Go!”
Go ahead and fill in the form with your database credentials.
The database Host is most commonly the default ‘localhost’ so leave it as is. However, there may be some occasions when your web host calls their DB host something different, if this step doesn’t succeed and you’ve checked your db name, user and password, check with your hosting details, or directly with your host as to what your DB host should be.
The table prefix, by default will be wp_ and it’s considered best practice to change this to something else as a security measure. You can change it to anything, and you can see in the image I’ve changed it to xprt_ (finish it with an underscore just to keep some separation between the table prefix and the table’s name).
When you’ve got all your form fields completed, press Submit to move onto the next step.
Naming Your Site and Creating the Site User
Once you hit Submit, you should be able to see the Welcome screen and a form to complete in which you name your new site and complete some important details with regards to your site’s user credentials.
You can fill the Super-Admin details, I’ve called my site ‘My New Website’, and created a user called ‘myname’. I’ve put in an email address, and finally, I’ve unchecked the Privacy checkbox in order to discourage Google from indexing my site until I’m ready.
The next step is to hit the Install button which will build the database tables in our database and populate our site with some temporary content.
There you have it – you should now be able to see the ‘Success!” message and an invitation to Log In.
Hit the Log in button to show the Log in Form.
You can now log in here to have a look at your dashboard (we’ll look at that more next time) or hit the ” ⟵ Back to [Name of your site]” to see your new site! Congratulations!
You’re now rocking a brand spanking new WordPress install of your very own!
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